Wednesday, 28 December 2016

True Stories of Life at Sydney Cove

After
publishing 'Across Great Divides:True Stories of Life at Sydney Cove (2013)
throughBirrong Books, Susan E Boyer, the author,
received positive feedback from teachers about its content linking closely with
Australian Curriculum history units. In response she has written this young
reader edition.

This book will appeal young
Australian readers who enjoy learning about their white heritage. The stories
bring to life the diverse experiences of people living in the precarious
circumstance of Australia's first penal colony. They are relayed through a
non-fiction narrative which shows how convict men saw and seized the possibilities
of their new position. The book portrays the situation of convict women and
their relationships with military men and demonstrates the varied responses of
participants to their unique situation. Some settlers succeeded beyond their
imagination, some failed disastrously.

The stories also give voice to
the dilemma of the Aboriginal people challenged by the unexpected arrival of a
completely alien race of white people to their land: Bennelong and his
difficult-to-ignore wife, Barangaroo, dealt with their new circumstances in a
way they felt would best benefit themselves and their people. On the other
hand, the young warrior Pemulwuy had his own ideas about how the white invaders
should be confronted. Boorong and Nanberry, two native children taken
separately into the homes of white settlers in the aftermath of a devastating
epidemic, went on to have fickle yet enduring relationships with their white
guardians.

The stories in Across Great
Divides, true stories of life at Sydney Cove give the different perspectives of
military men who had volunteered for a tour of duty in the remote colony.
Marine officers Watkin Tench, William Dawes, George Johnston, Philip Gidley
King, and Captain John Hunter left valuable links to past times through their
diaries, letters and journals. Arthur Phillip, the colony's first governor,
also wrote letters which give us insight into the dilemmas plaguing his mind.

The author has
developedfree teaching downloads, including
listening activities,for use in classrooms
and is currently developing a 'Resource Book' for Stories of Life at Sydney Cove, for purchase.